The Cage Assembly System provides a convenient way to construct large optomechanical systems using an established line of precision-machined building blocks that were designed for high flexibility and accurate alignment. See the Cage Overview tab for a full definition of this widely adapted construction standard.

The 16 mm cage plates are a family of construction blocks ideally suited for assembling optical systems based upon Ø1/2" optical components. Each cage plate contains four corner-located, Ø4 mm through-holes with a center-to-center spacing of 16 mm. These holes are machined for a precision slip fit with mating cage rods and provide side-accessible locking screws that fasten the plate to their mating assembly rods for positioning.

An example of the standard cageplate measurements determiningcage system compatibility.

Cage System Overview

The Cage Assembly System provides a convenient way to construct large optomechanical systems with an established line of precision-machined building blocks designed for high flexibility and accurate alignment.

16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm Cage System Standards

Thorlabs offers three standards defined by the center-to-center spacing of the cage assembly rods (see image to right). The 16 mm cage, 30 mm cage, and 60 mm cage standards are designed to accomodate Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" optics, respectively. Specialized cage plates that allow smaller optics to be directly inserted into our larger cage systems are also available. All locking setscrews used in these cage plates are standard 4-40 setscrews, which use a 0.05" hex key.

Standard Threads

The flexibility of our Cage Assembly System stems from well-defined mounting and thread standards designed to directly interface with a wide range of specialized products. The three most prevalent thread standards are our SM05 Series (0.535"-40 thread), SM1 Series (1.035"-40 thread), and SM2 Series (2.035"-40 thread), all of which were defined to house the industry's most common optic sizes. Essential building blocks, such as our popular lens tubes, directly interface to these standards.

These rods are used to connect cage plates, optic mounts, and other components in the cage system. The SR Series Cage Rods are compatible with our 16 mm cage systems, while the 30 mm and 60 mm cage systems use ER Series Cage Rods.

These serve as the basic building blocks for a cage system. They may have SM-threaded central bores, smooth bores sized for industry standard optics or to accommodate the outer profile of our SM Series Lens Tubes, or specialized bores for other components such as our FiberPorts.

These cubes are useful for housing larger optical components, such as prisms or mirrors, or optics that need to sit at an angle to the beam path, such as beamsplitters. Our cage cubes are available empty or with pre-mounted optics.

Click Hereif you can not read the security code.This code is to prevent automated spamming of our siteThank you for your understanding.

Would this product be useful to you?Little Use 1234Very Useful

Enter Comments Below:

Characters remaining8000

Posted Comments:

Poster:cdaly

Posted Date:2013-06-14 09:49:58.523

Response from Chris at Thorlabs: Thank you for your feedback. Have you considered using the SRSCA to connect the rods? It can be threaded into the end of one rod, while the other will slide in and be held with a set screw, just as it would with the CP02T. Four of these would allow you to combine two cage systems. They can be found here: http://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=SRSCA

Poster:ar687

Posted Date:2013-06-13 08:24:37.333

For the 30-mm cage system the product CP02T is a cage-plate with two retaining screws. This is extremely useful for joining two cages, especially if both are connected to a beamsplitter or mirror mount cube. With the 16-mm system, such an option does not exist, making it very awkward to join two cages. A 16-mm cage plate with two retaining screws per rod would be very useful.
Andrew Ramsay,

Click on any phrase below to search our site using our new Search Engine:

16 mm Blank Cage Plate

The SP Series of cage plates for 16 mm systems are ideally suited for assembling optical systems that are based upon Ø1/2" optical components. Each cage plate contains four through-holes, which are located at the corners. These holes are machined for a precision slip fit with SR cage rods and are fastened using locking 4-40 setscrews (tighten with a 0.05" hex key) located on the side of the plate.

Based on your currency / country selection, your order will ship from Newton, New Jersey

This SM05-Threaded Cage Plate is designed for use with our compact 16 mm cage assembly system. It features four through-holes that accept Ø4 mm SR Series cage rods. Each cage rod through hole is accompanied by a side-located locking 4-40 setscrew, which can be secured using a 0.05" hex key (Item # HK050). In addition, 3-48 cap screws are included for bolting it onto the SC6W six-way cage cube. One SM05RR retaining ring is included.

Based on your currency / country selection, your order will ship from Newton, New Jersey

16 mm Clear Aperture Cage Plate

Four 4 mm Through-Holes Accept SR Cage Rods to Integrate Plate Within a cage System

Includes a 4-40 Nylon-Tipped Setscrew at the Side for Clamping

Connects to SC6W Using the Provided 3-48 Cap Screws

The SP03 has a 16mm clear aperture for mounting of optical element into our compact, 16mm cage system. Each cage rod through hole is accompanied by a side-located locking 4-40 setscrew, which can be secured using a 0.05" hex key. A 4-40 and an M3 tapped mounting hole are featured on opposite sides. This plate is designed to hold prism mounts and beamsplitter mounts.

Based on your currency / country selection, your order will ship from Newton, New Jersey

The QRC05A cage mount is equipped with a unique spring-loaded dovetail design used to engage cage rods for positioning. By simply squeezing the dovetails together via the cupped actuator levers, the dovetail mechanism disengages the cage rods, allowing the mount to be either quickly repositioned or completely removed from a cage assembly. This convenient one-handed mechanism does not require any additional tools to actuate the clamping mechanism.

Based on your currency / country selection, your order will ship from Newton, New Jersey

Slip Plate Positioner, 16 mm Cage Compatible and Post Mountable

The 16 mm Slip Plate Positioner is designed to provide coarse XY positioning of optical components within our cage assembly system. This design provides manual adjustment only and is best utilized in conjunction with an alignment laser to monitor centricity. The movable carriage is internally SM05-threaded and directly accepts Ø1/2" (Ø12.7 mm) optics up to 0.15" (3.8 mm) thick which can be secured using an SM05RR Retaining Ring (sold separately). Each cage rod through hole is accompanied by a side-located locking 4-40 setscrew, which can be secured using a 0.05" hex key.